Medical examiner: Oklahoma woman likely died from head injuries associated with crucifix

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Medical examiner: Oklahoma woman likely died from head injuries associated with crucifix

OKLAHOMA CITY – Officials with the medical examiner’s office are releasing new information related to a horrific murder that occurred in Oklahoma City earlier this year.

On Aug. 27, officers were called to a home in the 1500 block of N. McKinley Ave. after callers asked officers to check on the welfare of a woman inside the house.

According to court documents, officers arrived at the home and found 33-year-old Geneva Gomez lying on the floor with a large crucifix on her chest.

“Blood was visible, and she had suffered severe trauma around her head and face,” the documents state.

Geneva was pronounced dead at the scene.

Court records show Juanita Gomez, the victim’s mother, told police she believed her daughter was possessed by the devil. Juanita admitted to punching her daughter and “forced a crucifix and religious medallion down her throat until blood came out of her daughter’s mouth.”

Juanita Gomez was arrested and officially charged with one count of first-degree murder in September.

On Friday, the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner’s Office released Gomez’s manner and cause of death.

According to the autopsy, medical experts say Gomez likely died from blunt trauma to the head and face during a beating. However, experts say they also found that she suffered from a fractured larynx from having “foreign bodies in mouth and pharynx.”

During the autopsy, medical experts found a coin and “a section of beaded chain, along with a crucifix,” in her throat.

The report states that Gomez suffered numerous abrasions to the head and face, a nasal fracture and numerous puncture wounds to the forehead and neck, among other injuries.

After the autopsy, police showed the medical examiner a large crucifix that may have caused the trauma to the victim’s head. Also, the medical examiner’s report shows that the thorns on the crucifix could have caused the puncture marks on the victim’s forehead.